


Smash or Pass

by AYeti



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: ((I didn't know I could write a fic without sex in it???? So Weird????), (which is weird for me), And she is sick of Kara not telling her, F/F, I'm ambiguous with the timeline here because time isn't real so who cares, Idk how to classify this one y'all, Is It Angst?, Is it fluff?, Kara Danvers Doesn't Know that Lena Luthor Knows, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl, is it crack?, just kissing, there's no smut, yes - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-07
Updated: 2021-01-07
Packaged: 2021-03-17 15:14:45
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,229
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28602048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AYeti/pseuds/AYeti
Summary: After having Kara slip up on her Super Secret time and time again, at Kara's Earth Birthday, Lena finally finds the perfect opportunity to encourage Kara along.orThe one where Kara wants to tell Lena she's Supergirl, but she panics every time, and Lena uses an innocent game of Smash or Pass to out her own thirst over Supergirl's buff arms in an effort to make Kara come clean.
Relationships: Kara Danvers/Lena Luthor
Comments: 17
Kudos: 557





	Smash or Pass

**Author's Note:**

> I've decided to go through all of my half-written one-shots, finish them if I want to, and post the ones that I think are okay. Enjoy this weird thing I wrote.

Lena let herself into Kara’s apartment with the spare key Kara had given her. They’d made plans to get together after work for a wine and movie night, but Kara hadn’t answered when Lena knocked. 

Lena thought Kara might have been running late (due to actual CatCo reporting, or saving the city, Lena couldn’t guess). 

She placed the bottle of chianti she’d brought onto Kara’s kitchen island, and jumped at the sudden, frustrated groan from the bathroom. Concerned, Lena snuck a little closer to make sure Kara was alright. Anything could happen to a Super, after all (not that Kara knew Lena was privy to that particular secret). 

The mumbling became clearer as Lena approached, and her confusion eased into the level of endearment only Kara could create within Lena. 

“Just tell her!” Kara grumbled on the other side of the closed door. Lena could picture Kara starring at herself in the mirror, clasping the sink just light enough not to break it. “You are the embodiment of truth, justice, and the American way, you can tell your best friend that you’re Supergirl. It’s not hard. Just say ‘Lena, I’m Supergirl,’ and then go from there.”

Frustrated whining and what sounded like Kara hitting herself in the head made Lena bite back a laugh. So Kara _was_ planning on telling her. That was nice. 

Lena debated on whether she should knock and tell Kara that she knew already that Kara Danvers was Supergirl, but it felt intrusive to take that moment away. It was Kara’s secret to tell, but that didn’t mean Lena couldn’t give Kara a helping hand. 

Lena tiptoed back to the kitchen, took two glasses out of the cupboard, and called for Kara in a loud tone. Obviously, Kara was too distracted to use her super hearing. It was fun to note that selective hearing wasn’t only a human trait. 

A large crash sounded in the bathroom followed by a clang of metal, and Lena rushed back to make sure Kara was okay. She knocked on the door. “Kara? Are you okay? Can I come in?” 

“Um… yeah,” Kara muttered through the door. 

Lena bit her lip to stifle a laugh at the scene before her. If the cracks in the ceiling were any indication, Kara had jumped so high she’d hit her head, and then fallen into the tub, tearing the shower curtain down with her. 

Kara’s knees hung over the rim of the tub and, after making sure Kara wasn’t actually hurt, Lena had to laugh. The shower curtain clunch to Kara like her cape. Kara pouted and held her hand out. 

“Help me, Lena,” she whined, and though they both knew that Kara didn’t need any help at all, they both pretended anyway. 

Kara didn’t often fall asleep when they watched movies together, but Lena savored every instance of it. She couldn’t fault Kara for keeping a secret, because Lena had one of her own. She reached over to brush a streak of blonde hair away from Kara’s face and tucked it behind her ear instead. 

Kara sighed and leaned into the touch, causing Lena’s heart to race because Kara was too cute. Much too cute. 

And then Kara smiled, still sleeping, and started to float into the air, as if whatever dream she was having made her so at ease that she simply couldn’t help it. 

Lena breathed out a laugh, pulling Kara back down by the hem of her sweater before leaning more heavily on Kara to keep her in place. It was a practiced maneuver, one Lena had employed every time Kara fell asleep and inevitably started to float away. If Lena got to press against Kara’s arms and feel the muscle that did not budge, well, that was an added bonus. 

Lena could pretend that it never happened. 

And they continued to both pretend for weeks. Lena would continuously catch Kara trying to amp herself up to break the news to Lena, or slipping up and saying she ‘flew over… on a bus,’ or accidentally breaking things that no human being could. She opened up the door to Lena’s lab as if it were plyboard, not privy to the fact that it was three tonnes of reinforced steel. 

When Kara had invited Lena to her ‘Earth Birthday’ party, Lena had finally had enough. She graciously accepted the invitation after Kara had backtracked and explained that her birthdays were always eco-friendly, and Lena pretended that the reasoning made any semblance of sense. 

She couldn’t simply force Kara to tell her, but that didn’t mean Lena couldn’t encourage Kara along. Lena only needed to bide her time and wait for the right moment to strike. 

Lena was never one to miss an opportunity to manipulate a situation for her own benefit, and such a situation occurred at Kara’s Earth Birthday party three weeks (and many of Kara’s slip-ups) later. 

Nia inadvertently gave Lena the best opportunity to hurry Kara along. Lena would have to offer Nia an interview, or perhaps give Dreamer’s suit some upgrades. 

Nia suggested they play smash or pass, and though everyone else who’d crowded around Kara’s coffee table groaned in protest, Lena knew just what to say to get them to agree with Nia’s suggestion. It was the perfect plan, really. 

“Oh, I’ve never played smash or pass. How does it work?” Lena asked. It wasn’t a lie, she had never played it, but only because she hadn’t been interested when her boarding school roommate and her friends had used it as an excuse to hook up with one another. Look at Lena now. 

“You’ve _never_ played it?” Nia asked, shocked. 

“It’s like, a rite of passage for teenagers,” Winn added. 

“I was expected to study and work as a teenager. I didn’t exactly have the time,” Lena explained, forcing herself not to grin at Kara’s sadness over Lena’s personal history. Kara let her ultimate pout loose on the group, and that was her real superpower because everyone was quick to agree after that. 

They all played into Lena’s hand perfectly. After a lifetime of having to be two steps ahead of the Luthors, this was child’s play. 

The drinks piled up around them as they took turns throwing out names and declaring whether they would Smash or Pass.

It was more interesting than Lena would have liked to admit to herself, especially when Winn had thrown out Wonder Woman, and Kara had been _very_ enthusiastic as she’d said smash. It was new information for Lena. Horrible, dangerous, new information. 

Lena didn’t give herself long to linger on the thought of Kara’s willingness to enthusiastically smash Wonder Woman. Who wouldn’t? Lena also refused to let Kara’s answer give her hope that there might be other dark-haired, light-eyed, powerful women that Kara might want to smash. Enthusiastically. 

But Lena was sitting next to Winn and it was her turn again, and her glorious opportunity finally came. She hid her smirk behind her glass of wine and tried not to laugh at how everyone reacted when she finally dropped the name.

“Supergirl.” 

The reaction was exactly what Lena had expected. Kara choked her wine back into the glass so Lena patted her back as Kara sputtered. Alex made a loud noise of disgust and Kelly failed to hide her laughter. Nia looked absolutely delighted and Brainy looked like he could not compute. James chuckled good-naturedly, and Winn looked incredibly uncomfortable as he scratched his nose to avoid eye contact. 

“That’s _so gross!”_ Alex complained eventually, and Lena pretended to be confused. 

“Why? She’s a superhero, just like Wonder Woman. Why is it different?” Lena argued and looked to Kara to rally some support from her best friend. Kara’s cheeks were pinker than Lena had seen them in a while. Lena had no regrets “Kara? You’re with me, right?” 

“Uh… I um. I mean...” Kara stuttered, fiddling with her glasses and catching Lena’s eyes only for fragments at a time. Adorable. “I don’t know if that many people would want to… you know...”

“Oh, come on,” Lena tried to convince her. Kara had to know how beautiful she was. “She’s gorgeous!” 

“A-are you saying that _you_ would… smash… M-Supergirl?” Kara turned from pink to red as she asked and Lena scoffed. Perhaps indulging in that extra glass of red had been a miscalculation, but Lena had been subtle long enough. Perhaps she’d given herself two opportunities to share secrets; Kara’s and her own. This way, if Kara didn’t reciprocate, they could pretend it never happened. 

“Obviously! I haven’t minded my quarterly assassination attempts so much since I moved to National City, especially if Supergirl has to pull me out of a helicopter or swoop in and catch me from falling off a building. I mean, have you _seen_ her arms? I know it’s not how Supers usually force Luthors into insanity, but she’s doing a number on me. I would let her-”

“Oh my God! Lena, _stop!”_ Alex complained and everyone else in the group laughed except for Kara, who was starring at Lena the same way she had the day they’d met. Wide eyes, her cheeks flushed crimson, and her breath slightly washing over Lena’s face as Alex continued her complaints. “Kara, you need to tell her. You have to. _Please_ put me out of my misery!”

“Are you all that surprised that a Luthor would be willing to-” Lena’s question was cut off by Kara’s comforting hand on her thigh. Lena had to smother her smirk.

“No, Lena, it’s not that!” Kara looked down at her hand and then yanked it away. “You’re good. We know that! You’re the best!”

“Well, what is it?” Lena pressed and it got awkwardly silent. Kara’s pleading eyes passed between the group as if she was looking for some sort of help, but it seemed nobody was willing to swoop in and save her. 

“Well,” Winn clapped his hands as Lena waited for Kara to explain. “Who wants to help me call an uber?” 

“ _Way_ ahead of you,” Alex said as she got up and pulled Kelly with her. James was quick to follow.

“I believe that now is an appropriate time to take our leave, as you are about to embark on an awkward conversation and I do not want to witness it. Thank you for hosting,” Brainy said and then tilted his head before he walked right out the front door. 

Nia, though, Nia glanced from Kara to Lena with pursed lips before she smirked at Lena’s too-innocent face, winked, and then followed the rest of the Super Friends, leaving Kara starring at Lena as if she couldn’t believe Lena was real. 

Lena’s mirth grew with every second that passed, especially when Alex glowered at her before leaving. It had been months since Alex glowered at her. Lena had thought they had bonded over bioengineering enough to stop the glowering, but apparently thirsting over Kara’s buff arms was enough to revert back to their mild rivalry. Oh well. Sacrifices had to be made in the name of victory. 

“I haven’t seen that look from Alex in weeks,” Lena quipped to try to ease the silent tension after the door closed, but Kara fiddled with her glasses. Kara stood and began to pace back and forth as she grumbled in frustration and twisted her fingers. Lena wanted to take pity on Kara, but she was offended that Lena was the very last friend Kara had told, so she let pettiness take over so she could watch Kara panic for a short while. Why would Kara tell her very best friend last? Even Nia and Brainy seemed to know, and Kara had known them for much less time (superheroes or not).

“Okay, this is so _not_ how I imagined telling you,” Kara said as she adjusted her glasses once more. “I was going to tell you, I was just trying to figure out how!”

Lena pursed her lips, not quite ready to alleviate Kara’s anxiety just yet. Lena didn’t want to cross any lines, but she wasn’t opposed to dipping a toe or two over every now and again. 

“It’s fine Kara, I just didn’t realize you and Supergirl were that close,” Lena said. She had to use every little bit of Luthor training she had to keep her features schooled and not burst into laughter on the confused look Kara gave her.

The group getting so distraught over Lena’s desire to smash Supergirl, and especially Alex’s reaction, could be explained by Kara dating Supergirl. It made sense. Supergirl had awkwardly told Lena she had been getting coffee with Kara Danvers at midnight that one time, but there was only one reason two people would need a caffeine boost that late at night. Lena couldn’t let the opportunity to fluster Kara further pass. Kara was entirely too cute when she blushed.

“ _What?!”_ Kara squeaked out. “I’m not dating Supergirl, I’m… Lena, I- Oh gosh, how do I? Ugh, okay.” Kara rambled on for a minute and Lena sat patiently next to the coffee table and tried to remain calm. Kara heaved a great sigh and set her glasses on the coffee table before straightening up.

All of a sudden, Kara stopped shifting, she stopped biting her lip and she looked down at Lena with every bit of assuredness that Supergirl ever had, but all Lena could see was Kara. 

“I’m not dating Supergirl, Lena. I like _you_ . I _really_ like you. I want to be with you, and if you don’t feel the same, that’s okay. Being your friend is enough-”

“Kara, I lo-” 

“There’s more,” Kara interrupted. 

“K-Kara, what are you doing?” Lean balled her fists into the shag rug she sat on as one, two, three buttons became undone. She had prepared for the truth of Supergirl, but not for Kara to return her feelings and then slowly remove her shirt. It was… an unexpected bonus.

“Something I should have done a long time ago,” Kara said with more seriousness than someone who was undressing in front of their best friend should have, but then Lena saw that Kara wore a shirt underneath her button up. A blue shirt. A blue that Lena would recognize as fast as Kara’s eye colour and Kara finally pulled her button-up open and took the elastic from her hair.

“Kara Danvers is Supergirl. I’m- I’m Supergirl.” Kara reached up to fiddle with her glasses but poked herself in the eye instead because the glasses still sat on the coffee table. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I didn’t know where to start with any of this.” 

Though Lena was vaguely insulted that she was the very last of Kara’s friends to know and her instinct was to reach for anger, that wasn’t who Lena wanted to be. She took a deep breath and tried to understand. “Thank you for finally telling me.” 

“You’re not mad?” Kara asked. Her eyes so pleading and blue. Lena glanced between the all too familiar super suit to the glasses and back to the blue of Kara’s fearful eyes. 

“I knew Kara. I knew who you were the moment you walked into my office with Superman. I’ve known who Supergirl was since the beginning,” Lena said, and Kara gaped at her before kneeling next to Lena.

“You never said anything.” 

“I didn’t think it was my place. I kept Clark’s secret from Lex when I figured it out, and neither of those secrets is mine to tell.”

“How did you know?” 

“You’re not exactly subtle,” Lena scoffed and Kara pouted at her. “Kara, you invited me to your _Earth_ Birthday. Did you know you float in your sleep if you’re having a good dream? You do it during movie nights every time you fall asleep on me. And the door to my lab weighs three tonnes. You open it like it’s a cupboard.”

“Dangit!” Kara balled her hands into fists as she chastised herself. It was entirely too endearing. 

“I’m sorry, Lena,” she said, and Lena knew that Kara was sorry. Upset as she was to be the last to know, she understood.

“I forgive you,” Lena said, trying to erase the worried crinkle of Kara’s brow.

Then Kara’s eyes widened and she looked up at Lena as if she’d solved a puzzle. 

“You knew the whole time?” Kara asked and Lena nodded. “Maybe I could… make it up to you? You know, by, I dunno, pulling you out of a helicopter or something?” 

Kara swallowed nervously as she waited for Lena’s reply. Kara’s hands were fisted into her slacks, and she looked at Lena with a ridiculous worry that Lena could be anything but reciprocating.

“Just a helicopter?” Lena teased with a smirk, causing Kara to blush. “I’m only a tiny bit sorry that I admitted I would have sex with Supergirl in front of all of our friends so that you’d come out to me.”

“I’m not. Sorry, that is. I’m not sorry. I’d um… I’d catch you any day.” 

“Please don’t make fun of me,” Lena allowed herself a moment of vulnerability. Kara was her best friend, and though her relationship with Supergirl was strained at times, they did have mutual respect. Still, Lena needed reassurance, and Kara was always there for that. Sure, Lena had orchestrated the entire situation, but she hadn’t thought so far ahead to know what she was going to do after Kara had admitted to being Supergirl, or for liking Lena for that matter. Lena hadn’t planned for that at all. She’d never imagined it would happen.

“Lena, I’m not making fun of you,” Kara said before she sat back down next to Lena, who tore her eyes away from the symbol of hope on Kara’s chest and into the hope of Kara’s eyes. “I… I understand if you’re mad at me. I just… I don’t know, I wanted to tell you but I just liked being able to be Kara Danvers with you. I could just be this stupid, bumbling reporter and you didn’t mind that’s all I was. You became my friend anyway and I was scared you’d treat me differently if you knew all of who I was. 

“I was going to tell you, but then everything happened with your mom and with James, and I know it’s not an excuse, I should have told you the truth, but I was so scared you would hate me for keeping it from you, and the longer I waited the harder it got. And somewhere along the line, the whole time really, I had this stupid crush on you but I knew I couldn’t tell you until I told you that I was Supergirl, but I couldn’t tell you I was Supergirl because I was so afraid to lose you, but I guess I might lose you either way. I’m sorry, Lena.” 

“I feel…” Lena almost chuckled at herself. She couldn’t remember the last time she started a sentence with that. “I feel like I want to be angry.” Kara stiffened and hardened the resolve of her face, but Lena could still see how scared she was. “But I think part of that is my own insecurity because I never thought Supergirl ever actually trusted or liked me.” 

“She likes you! I mean I-I like you. Like a lot! I trust you with my life, Lena,” Kara said and Lena had to chuckle. 

“I know. Part of me feels… resentful that I was the last one you told. I feel like I’ve been made a fool and I want to be angry about that, but…” Lena sighed as Kara tried not to cry or look too hopeful. 

“But?” 

“But I know that’s not me. Or it’s not who I want to be. I’ve made mistakes and you’ve forgiven me for each one, no matter how often I walk the wrong path. Sometimes I’m afraid it’s the only path I have.” 

“I always believe in you because you always make the right choice in the end. Every time, without fail, since I have known you. You choose to be good, and that’s what is important.” 

“I’m… worried I don’t deserve to be your friend,” Lena whispered. She hadn’t much practice in being honest with her emotions. After years of being berated or worse for sharing how she felt, Lena had learned to keep her thoughts to herself, but for every bit that Supergirl made Lena feel safe physically, Kara had made Lena’s heart safe. “I’m afraid my Luthor genes mean that I’ll never be good enough for you.” 

“I get to choose who I want in my life, and I’d choose you every time.” Kara reached forward and clasped Lena’s fidgeting hands. “You’re Lena Luthor, and you know what that means? It means you’re resourceful. You’re clever, and you get so lost in your work that you forget to take care of yourself. It means that you’re an excellent planner and that you have all means available to help the world the way you want to. That’s what you got from being a Luthor, Lena, and the rest you get to choose.” 

“What if I choose wrong?” Lena asked. 

Kara reached up to brush Lena’s tears away with a gentle smile. “You’re so worried about being evil. I see evil every day, Lena, and you’re not it. Evil doesn’t care to worry about morality. You’re _so_ good, Lena. _So good,_ and maybe you get a little overwhelmed and misguided sometimes, but that extends beyond the human condition because it happens to me too, and to everyone I’ve ever met. I know what it looks like to hold yourself up to a higher standard, so I understand, but just because you have to be careful doesn’t mean you have to be bad.” 

Lena smiled through her slightly tearful eyes, so lost in Kara’s conviction that Lena couldn’t think to believe anything else. “Thank you.” 

Kara leaned forward to pull Lena into a hug just tight enough that any more would be painful, but it wasn’t. It was perfect, just the way Lena liked it. 

Kara held her while Lena got her breathing back to normal, made easier by Kara’s steadiness. 

When Lena pulled away, Kara didn’t let her go far, her arms still wrapped around Lena’s shoulders, and Lena’s hands resting on the crest on Kara’s chest. 

Nobody had ever looked at Lena with the care and tenderness that Kara did, but then again, Kara had always looked at Lena a little differently than everyone else. There was never any reservation in Kara’s sure gaze, just awe and, for better or for worse, blind trust that Lena was good. 

And Lena would be damned if she broke that trust. She loathed being the one to destroy that earnestness. 

Kara’s small puffs of breath tickled Lena’s lips, and when she wet them, Kara’s eyes flickered down to catch the movement before coming back up, trapping Lena in a sea of blue. 

And then Kara leaned in, infinitesimally, and tilted her head just so, giving Lena all the room in the world to choose, and maybe that choice and freedom that Kara always extended was why Lena leaned in too. 

Lena splayed her fingers out, gently caressing Kara’s collarbones, glad she’d left her hair down when Kara’s hand tangled into it. 

Enveloped completely in Kara’s arms, Lena had never felt safer, and when she pressed her lips to Kara’s, Lena knew that she would choose Kara every time too. 

For someone with the moniker Girl of Steel, Kara was exceedingly tender, running her nose down Lena’s so softly it felt like feathers before kissing Lena again. Lena’s half-dry tears clung between both of their faces, but Kara didn’t seem to mind as she sucked Lena’s lower lip into her mouth and ran her tongue across it before biting gently. 

Lena sighed into the kiss, helpless to resist even if she wanted to. She wasn’t fully aware of her body moving, but somewhere in the back of her mind, it registered that she’d sat up to straddle herself over Kara’s kneeling thighs, pushing their bodies as close together as she could with her hands clinging to Kara’s open shirt. 

In the gentle exploration of tongues, Kara’s hands traveled down Lenas back to her hips and squeezed, causing Lena to break the kiss in a gentle groan. 

Kara stared at her, mouth agape as she caught her breath. “Rao, Lena.” Her eyes flickered down between their bodies and she bit her lip before smiling timidly at Lena. “I… I love you.” 

It wasn’t the first time Kara had said it. 

It was the first time Lena understood. 

Kara loved her. She loved Lena with every paper bag full of Big Belly Burger, she loved Lena with each word of every article she wrote about her. Kara loved Lena with every bullet she deflected, with every movie night in together, and with every potsticker she let Lena steal, even though Kara never let anybody else. 

Kara loved Lena the same way Lena had been loving Kara, the way they’d both been trying to hide. 

Lena laughed with the release of the realization that she didn’t have to hide it anymore, and she kissed Kara once more just because she could before responding, “I love you, too.” 

**Author's Note:**

> Also, feel free to send me prompts on tumblr if you want! My username is the same. :)


End file.
